What do I need to use API Versioning Strategy?

API type; Current versioning approach; Number of existing versions and active consumer count; Deprecation timeline constraints; Consumer type.

Is API Versioning Strategy free to use?

Yes — run it free in the browser playground (no API key needed for the sponsored trial, or bring any provider key), or install it into Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT and more via npx pm-claude-skills. MIT-licensed and open source.

API Versioning Strategy

Q: How do I know the API Versioning Strategy output is good?

The skill verifies itself against its own quality checks: Versioning scheme recommendation includes explicit rationale tied to the API type and consumer type provided — not a generic recommendation; Breaking-change table covers at minimum: field removal, field rename, type change, making optional field required, endpoint removal, enum expansion, and default value change; Deprecation timeline durations are filled in with concrete values, not left as abstract placeholders; All three communication artifacts are present: initial deprecation notice, 30-day warning, and migration guide template.

🔵 Stable🕐 updated 2026-06-08 🔷 SkillSpec L3 pm-engineering

Write an API versioning strategy document for a service or API platform. Use when asked to define versioning policy, plan API deprecation, classify breaking changes, or document version lifecycle. Produces a complete versioning strategy with breaking-change classification table, deprecation timeline, migration guide template, and client communication template.

▶ Run it free — no key needed 📝 Grade your existing draft View SKILL.md ↗

What to give it

▸API type — REST, GraphQL, or gRPC (each has different versioning mechanics)

▸Current versioning approach — URL path (`/v1/`), request header, query parameter, or none; if none, document starts fresh

▸Number of existing versions and active consumer count — needed to size the lifecycle policy and migration scope

▸Deprecation timeline constraints — any hard deadlines (contract SLAs, compliance windows, annual release cycles)

▸Consumer type — internal teams only, external partners, public API, or mix (affects communication channel choices)

✅ The bar it holds itself to

Every skill in this library self-verifies — these are this skill's own quality checks, straight from its definition.

✓Versioning scheme recommendation includes explicit rationale tied to the API type and consumer type provided — not a generic recommendation

✓Breaking-change table covers at minimum: field removal, field rename, type change, making optional field required, endpoint removal, enum expansion, and default value change

✓Deprecation timeline durations are filled in with concrete values, not left as abstract placeholders

✓All three communication artifacts are present: initial deprecation notice, 30-day warning, and migration guide template

✓Sunset response headers (`Deprecation`, `Sunset`, `Link`) use correct RFC date format and real URL structure

✓SDK versioning alignment table is present and ties SDK major versions explicitly to API major versions

✓Maximum simultaneous supported versions is stated with a concrete number

⚠️ What it refuses to do

Do not classify expanding an enum (new response values) as non-breaking — clients with exhaustive switch statements will break when they receive an unexpected enum value

Do not set a sunset date without confirming it is achievable for the largest consumer — a sunset that forces consumers to miss a legal deadline will be ignored or escalated

Do not maintain more than two simultaneous stable/deprecated versions — each additional supported version multiplies maintenance burden and consumer confusion

Do not use "monitor traffic" as the sole mechanism for knowing when all consumers have migrated — track named consumers against migration completion explicitly

Do not skip the migration guide — consumers will delay migration indefinitely without a step-by-step guide that estimates effort

Install

npx pm-claude-skills add --agent claude   # or codex · cursor · gemini · hermes
# or one-line MCP (every skill, any client):
claude mcp add pm-skills -- npx -y pm-claude-skills-mcp

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💬 Discussion

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